The use of etched features to enable the cleaving of III-V semiconductor devices such as indium phosphide (InP) substrate telecommunications lasers is well known and described in Friedrich et-al, Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol 10, 3, 1992, pp 336-339. In addition, the combination of precision cleaving with mode expansion has been shown to offer a route to low cost optoelectronics packaging as disclosed by Collins in U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,696, and to enable the passive alignment of hybrid optoelectronic devices as disclosed by Maxwell in U.S. Pat. No. 6,778,718.